((ht: usatoday.com))Never? Never ever?
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder has made what he and many others would consider an unequivocal statement about the potential change of the Redskins name in the face of a renewed questioning about the name being an Indian racial slur.
Snyder told USA Today in no uncertain terms: "We'll never change the name," he said. "It's that simple. NEVER — you can use caps."
Read the USA Today story RIGHT HERE
Not being of Indian decent nor a fan of the Redskins and Mr. Snyder, it's hard to gauge the seriousness of either party.
Yes, it appears the team is the target of a federal trademark infringement suit by a Navajo Indian, but there's one question that stands out here: Why now?
The team has been named Redskins for decades. And until a few years ago when any Indian named team became a target, nobody said anything. We aren't arguing whether they have a right to complain about it. They do. It's the timing.
Again, trying to be sensitive and yes, show a bit of ignorance here, we aren't sure how this impacts the daily lives of Native Americans at this point in time. Yes, we know, they've been marginalized and many live in relative isolation. But another question we have, partially born of admitted ignorance is this: Are you mocked or insulted anytime a sportscast mentions the word? Or the team name?
If it is truly a derogatory term and an insult to all then yes, something should be done. But if it offends a few people, then maybe we're being a bit presumptuous. After all in today's era of political correctness, there are very few things any says, does or names something after that doesn't seem to offend at least one person. And it seems like nowadays
, that's all it takes.
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